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Hemant Soren to take oath as Jharkhand CM today
The development comes after Champai Soren resigned as chief minister and Hemant Soren, who is out on bail, staked claim to form the government.
Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan on Thursday invited JMM leader Hemant Soren to form the government in the state a day after senior party leader Champai Soren tendered his resignation as chief minister.
Congress state president Rajesh Thakur said Hemant Soren will take oath as Jharkhand CM today, reported PTI. According to news agency ANI, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader will be sworn in at 5pm.
“Invited Hemant Soren to take oath today after appointing him as the CM-designate of Jharkhand,” Governor CP Radhakrishnan posted on X.
Earlier in the day, JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said that the swearing-in ceremony will be on July 7.
“The Governor has invited us to form the government and take the oath. We have decided that the CM along with this cabinet will take oath on July 7,” Bhattacharya told ANI.
Champai Soren resigned from the post just five months after taking the oath, paving the way for Hemant Soren to take up the role again.
Hemant Soren, the executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering. Ahead of his arrest, Soren resigned as chief minister. The Jharkhand high court granted him bail on June 28.
The single judge bench said: "The overall conspectus of the case based on broad possibilities does not specifically or indirectly assign the petitioner to be involved in the acquisition and possession as well as concealment of 8.86 acres of land at Shantinagar, Bargain, Ranchi connected to the "proceeds of crime."
Read: BJP will be wiped out from Jharkhand after assembly polls, says Hemant Soren
The investigation concerns the purported generation of substantial proceeds through the alleged forgery of official records, involving "fake sellers and buyers" to acquire large parcels of land.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, has described the replacement of Champai Soren as the "lust for power" of INDIA bloc leaders.
"You can see the lust for power the leaders of the INDIA bloc have. One of their leaders (Arvind Kejriwal), who is in jail, is keen to remain the Chief Minister. On the other hand, Hemant Soren , who is out on bail, wants to grab the chair", Bihar minister and BJP leader Nitin Nabin Sinha told ANI in Patna.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said the removal of Champai Soren as Jharkhand CM was ''deeply distressing''.
''The removal of a senior tribal leader from the post of Chief Minister in Jharkhand by the JMM and Congress party is deeply distressing,'' Sarma, who is the co-in charge of Jharkhand, posted on X.
With inputs from agencies
